Crippled Cal Loses to Montana State; Bears Fall to 2-2

Cal's Devin Askew and Jalen Celestine sit out Thursday's game with injuries

The schedule suggested Cal should start the season 4-0, but Thursday's 63-60 loss to Montana State before a crowd of 2,638 at Haas Pavilion leaves the Bears at 2-2.

Cal made a strong second-half comeback from a 14-point deficit, and Jalen Cone could have tied the game with his 3-point shot with 4.0 seconds left, but it bounced off the rim. Cone then heaved up a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer but that one was not close.

This was a game Cal was expected to win, even without Devin Askew and Jalen Celestine, who sat out with foot injuries. 

Asked to assess how Cal played, Cone had a simple response:

"Horrible."

Coach Mark Madsen was also succinct when asked to assess how his team played.

"Not well."

Cal was missing three key players Thursday, but the Bears seemed to have enough firepower to handle Montana State, which was picked to finish seventh in the 10-team Big Sky conference in the preseason coaches poll and tabbed to end up fourth in the preseason media poll.

The Bobcats were 25-10 last year, including 15-3 in the Big Sky, but they lost their top five scorers from that team. This season the Bobcats (2-1) beat Northwest Indian College and lost to Seattle University before facing Cal.

"Did our guys underestimate the opponent?" Madsen asked. "I don't know. Maybe. But we can never underestimate an opponent."

Cal committed 16 turnovers and was just 3-for-18 from 3-point land. The Bears committed 11 turnovers in the first half, which ended with the Bobcats holding a six-point lead. Cal never completely recovered.

"It was unacceptable," Cone said of the team's showing in  the video atop the story. "We did not come into the arena ready to play tonight. It was just horrible basketball on our end."

Cal played Thursday's game without starting guard Askew and sixth man Celestine. Both were in street clothes and each has a foot injury.  Madsen usually indicates when an injury is a short-term issue.  He was reluctant to give any prognosis for Askew and Celestine after Thursday's game, though, suggesting that maybe the injuries were more serious.

Also, guard Keonte Kennedy, a transfer from Memphis who is expected to be a significant contributor for Cal this season, has yet to play this season with an upper extremity injury.

Cal trailed by 14 points with 15 minutes left in the second half, but managed to cut the deficit to one point with 2:34 remaining. Jaylon Tyson was the instigator of the Bears rally, and he finished with 27 points. However, Cal was never able to take the lead as Montana State came up with key buckets down the stretch.

Turnovers were the Bears’ problem, as they committed 11 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, enabling the Bobcats to get nine more field goal attempts. Montana State’s 6-foot-7 Brandon Walker was able to back his way down for close-range shots again and again, enabling him to score 14 first-half points.

Walker, who averaged 6.6 points for Texas-Arlington last year before transferring to Montana State, finished with 26 points.

Tyson had eight first-half points for Cal, which shots 45.5% from the field and was just 2-for-9 on 3-pointers before halftime. Montana State was even worse from long range in the first half, shooting 1-for-12 from deep. But the Bobcats were 13-for-19 from inside the arc, led by Walker.

Cover photo of Mark Madsen

Follow Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport